One Thing about Caroline Julian
by NerdyGerl
Summary: My entry in the Bonesology September Challenge: A New Situation.  Just how does Caroline Julian deal with the news of our favorite partners' new relationship?


Disclaimer: I don't own Bones, but I am obsessed.

Author's Note: So, I was planning on writing an update for the Man in Black tonight, and this is what came out instead. This is my entry for the Bonesology A New Situation Challenge. I love writing Caroline, and I don't get to do it much. Enjoy.

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><p>One Thing about Caroline Julian<p>

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><p>Caroline bustled into the Hoover conference room, feeling flustered. And if there was one thing that Caroline Julian loathed, it was feeling flustered. She had been called into a meeting, (summoned, really) with absolutely no agenda or explanation. She was a busy woman, and when she had been told to drop everything and report to the Hoover immediately, it set off warning bells. And not tinkling, little, jingle bells. They were giant, clanging, Quasimodo bells.<p>

Still, Caroline brushed off her unease and frustration and marched into the room, not letting the many occupants see her sweat. It was an eclectic mix of people. Booth was seated between Hacker and a man in a suit that Caroline didn't recognize. On the other side of the table, Brennan was flanked by Sweets and Cam.

Caroline stared down the room, "Well, it isn't my birthday, but that doesn't mean that you couldn't have brought a cake to this party."

"This isn't a party, Ms. Julian." Brennan returned.

The general population gave an eye roll. Caroline sighed and eyed the chair that had been left vacant for her. "Well, aren't we formal today? I take it that there is a reason for me to be here on this fine morning. Do I need to sit down for this, _cher_?" She made eye contact with Booth, who nodded curtly in response. "I think that I'd prefer to stand." Booth shrugged his indifference.

Again, it was Brennan who spoke, "Caroline. Booth and I, the reason that we've asked for this meeting. Well, we've decided to pursue a romantic relationship. With each other."

Caroline's eyes gleamed for a split second, then she pulled a stoic mask onto her face. "So, hell has frozen over. Good to know."

Booth blew out a breath. "That's not all." He looked over at Brennan, question in his gaze. At her gentle nod, he continued. "Bones and I, we're pregnant."

At that, Caroline did sit down, fanning herself with her hand. Recovering her poise, she looked around the room. Everyone except Brennan was trying to avoid eye-contact with her. But Brennan stared boldly at the prosecutor. "So, y'all knew about this?"

The partners spoke in unison. "Yes."

Caroline's hands flailed. "And I take it all of your other squints know?"

Again, there was a simultaneous, "Yes."

The prosecutor huffed. If there was one thing Caroline Julian loathed, it was being the last person to know. As a lawyer, she needed to be the first to know everything, she had to know every secret, be prepared for every contingency. In a trial, one secret uncovered by someone who wasn't her; well, it could be the difference between conviction and exoneration.

"Alright, so let me guess the reason for this little conference. You two finally did the nasty, got yourselves in the family way, and now you want to know what we're going to do about it."

Sweets let out a soft, "Wicked." Caroline's glare fixed on the psychologist, silently daring him to use his 'grown-up words.'

Booth shifted in his seat before leaning forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Caroline, we're here to protect our team, but more importantly our partnership. We can be professional, we are professional. And you know us, you know that we've always been more than partners. Hell, you even encouraged us."

"I did no such thing."

Booth smirked, "I seem to recall a mistletoe incident from several years ago. Sound familiar, Puck?"

Caroline clucked out a denial. "Watch your tongue, cher." In the corner, the unknown man cleared his throat. Caroline snapped to attention. "And who are you?"

The man nervously adjusted his tie before speaking. "Calvin MacPherson, ma'am. I'm from HR. After reviewing this particular case, it's our recommendation that their partnership should be terminated immediately and another agent should be assigned to liaise with the Jeffersonian Institution. And of course, Dr. Brennan's tenure in the field is over until further notice."

Brennan stood in protest. "That is unacceptable. I am perfectly capable of still working in the field. For centuries, women have..."

She was cut off by a sharp, "Not now, Bones." Booth looked at his partner apologetically as she regained her seat, then forced his gaze away from Brennan and back to Caroline. "Look, Caroline. Bones and I, we're a team. We've done the counseling, we've done our jobs. You've seen how successful we are. How many cases have you won because of us?"

Caroline ran her tongue across her teeth. "You're looking to me for a loophole, so you can have your cake and eat it too."

Cam spoke up for the first time, trying to help the cause. "Technically, the FBI contracts with the Jeffersonian and Dr. Brennan is independent of the Hoover. It shouldn't matter."

The lawyer considered the information. "It's thin."

Again Booth chimed in, unable to keep the tension out of his voice. "But is it enough?"

Caroline eyed the psychologist. "What do you think about it, Boy Wonder?"

Sweets cleared his throat, "It is my professional opinion that Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan are deeply connected to each other. Recent, umm, events have shown that their relationship has likely been more than strictly professional for a long time."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"I feel that with continued therapy, we can address any issues that arise in the future. Terminating the partnership would be detrimental to the Bureau and to the cases that we investigate. This partnership, it's more than the sum of two people, or even of the entire team. It's..."

"Synergistic." Cam interjected.

Caroline focused on the pathologist. "So you're fine with this, uhh, development?"

Cam didn't even blink. "Of course. Just look at our statistics. And, Ms. Julian, let's not forget what happened when the team did separate."

"And what about you?" Caroline whipped her head around to face Hacker.

The man stammered, "Uhh, well, it's against policy, but, I don't think that we can stop Temperance, especially when she's so determined." Booth's hand fisted slightly on the table at Hacker's rather wistful tone and the man quickly added, "Of course, I believe that Agent Booth is also fully capable of keeping up his impeccable record as an agent."

"And you, Mr. HR, you'll back down if all of us approve?"

The man shuffled the papers in front of him. "There's no precedent for this situation, but as there are no other objections, we are willing to consider a probationary period, to be revisited in three months."

Brennan had spent the majority of the conversation staring at her clasped hands in her lap. Now, her head perked up. "Caroline, will our relationship affect your cases? Can our personal connection, could it be used against us? Against you? I won't compromise our work. You're the linchpin, Caroline. I won't sacrifice justice for my own personal benefit."

"Bones!"

"We've discussed this, Booth. A savvy lawyer, he or she could use our relationship against us. Put _us_ on trial. Murderers could walk away because they argue against our objectivity, our ability to separate our personal from our professional lives. I won't let it happen. I'll walk away first."

It was Cam who laid a gentle hand on Brennan's. "We know. Ms. Julian, what is your professional opinion? Is our objectivity compromised? Are we digging ourselves into a hole that we can't get out of?"

If there was one thing that Caroline Julian loathed, it was losing cases. Especially losing cases on appeal. Brennan's argument was sound. Heck, if Caroline wanted to, she could probably re-prosecute Max Keenan for Kirby's murder and win, using Booth and Brennan's relationship against them. She wouldn't, but she could. It was possible that their relationship could mean trouble, not only for her conviction statistics, but for the victims of the crimes that she prosecuted.

Six faces stared at the lawyer, each with varying degrees of hopefulness on their faces, for varying reasons. The truth was, the first time that she had been in a room with Booth and Brennan she had known that there was something between them. She had basically told Booth to watch his back, and stop acting like a lovesick teenager. And then he had called in all of his favors to get her to come home to New Orleans and defend his partner from a murder charge. She had huffed and puffed on the outside, but inside she had admired their dedication to each other.

Caroline continued to think over the past several years. Mistletoe and trailers, bugs and blood and metal stuff she didn't fully understand, trials and tribulations, it was all seared into her memory. And she would never admit it out loud, but these were her people. This was her go-to agent. This was her awkward genius. This was her team. She may be a prosecutor, but when push came to shove she would defend them to the end.

She chose her words carefully before speaking. It wouldn't do to give too much away. She had a reputation to protect. "Well, I am a very gifted lawyer. What kind of prosecutor would I be if I couldn't stand by the people who allow me to do my job? I suppose that a probationary period is warranted, I can't let you two go gallivanting off and doing whatever you want. And that will make the Bureau happy-ish. I suppose, I'll let you two work, especially if it's still for me. Besides, I've already got some married squints on the team. What's another pair?"

Brennan's eyes were wide in her face. "Really?"

"Dr. Brennan, I like you, but more importantly, I like the job that you do for me. You help me take killers off the street. I'm not willing to lose you, or Booth, or any of y'all. But I agree with Mr. Tight-Tie in the corner. You really should stay out of the field. You've got a baby in there."

"Caroline, I'm perfectly capable of being in the field. I can protect myself."

"Hey, what do I know? I'm just a lawyer. Are we done here? I do still have my regular job to do. I can't baby-sit you lot all day long."

Six people quickly stood as the meeting was adjourned. Caroline remained seated, listening to the chatter around her, until she was pulled to her feet. She struggled away from the fervent hug that Brennan bestowed upon her. She was released only to be crushed by Booth's frame and a sincere, "Thank you." Caroline waved the crowd away. She let her tough exterior slip a little as she watched Booth sling a careful arm around his partner and press a kiss to her temple. "I told you, Bones. It would all work out." The woman nodded and pushed herself a little closer to Booth's side.

Caroline watched the various pairs leave the room, first a rather confused pair of FBI administrators, followed by a quietly celebrating psychologist and a pathologist. It was the agent and anthropologist who left last, lost in their own little world, still wrapped in each others' arms. They would make it work. After all of this time, they deserved happiness. Caroline smiled to herself, she really was going soft.

If there was one thing that Caroline Julian actually liked, it was happy endings. She didn't get to see them very often. She was a witness to endings, to closure; when a family could finally shut the book on a loved one's tragic story. Endings were nice, but in her experience, they were never exactly happy.

Then again, this wasn't really an ending. It was more of a beginning, a happy beginning. Yes, happy beginnings, she liked those too. She grunted to herself as she exited the conference room. She really was going soft.


End file.
